Captain Kidd's treasure! So goes the legend, anyhow, of what lies somewhere within a mysterious catacomb of tunnels, pits, and rooms on an island hardly a mile long off Nova Scotia. Crooker, who is a good historian and also quite witty, tells a tale of folly and obsession--he himself has hunted for the treasure, and one team even constructed a causeway from the main island so they could bring in heavy excavation equipment. Crooker has written other books about this endless treasure hunt; this one takes readers though the summer of 1992.

Treasure hunters have been tunneling into Oak Island off the coast of Nova Scotia since 1795, yet no one has found the fabulous treasure that legend says is buried there. It all began when a young explorer found a clearing on the island that appeared to have been worked. Throw in local rumors of pirates and buried treasure, and the digging started. The original excavators did leave many clues which convinced treasure seekers that something was buried on Oak Island, but every time the digging reached a certain depth, the hole filled with sea water. Crooker, an engineer and surveyor, presents both a thorough historical review of the various digs and a look at all the theories about the treasure. Based on his research, he maintains that it was looted by the British from Havana in 1762 and put on the island for safekeeping. Prospectors are still digging, but until the ``treasure'' is found, the mystery remains. Recommended for public libraries.-- John Kenny, San Francisco P.L. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.